Migrant Maps and Memories (2022-present)
It is a project of Emily Sun and Xirou XiaoAs migrants and descendants of migrants, how do we experience and construct our concept of family? How do we recover, remember, and transmit these family stories from our own perspective? Migrant Maps and Memories is a collective and participatory artistic creation that investigates the construction of family memory in migratory contexts, through the collection of domestic photographs and accompanying narratives from Chinese families living in Spain. The project proposes a creative way of capturing and representing migratory experiences through family visual archives, functioning both as documentation and as a tool for tracing intersections and differences between different experiences.
Visuality and methodology
The installation is based on a visual presentation structured through a timeline and a geographic map, where photographs and stories are arranged in collage form to collectively construct a map of Chinese migrant memory in Spain. For example, the stories collected show that the majority of migrants come from Zhejiang province (Qingtian, Wenzhou), and that the most frequently represented photographs belong to the period between 2000 and 2005. At the same time, stories of people of Chinese origin from Latin America (such as Peru) or from the diaspora in the United States are also documented. The work uses life history as an anthropological method, focusing on emotions and memory to explore migrant identity and sense of belonging.
Exhibition and dissemination
The work is presented using a large-format printed background (wallpaper-like), upon which the photographs are installed in a three-dimensional manner, creating an immersive installation. This is complemented by workshops and interactive activities that allow for the expansion of the archive. Maps and Migrant Memories has been exhibited in various cultural and artistic institutions, adapting its format each time to deepen its impact. Among the most notable presentations:
2024 – Madrid: Exhibition Maps and Migrant Memories of the Chinese Diaspora in Spain in the temporary exhibition Zhongguo. The Country of the Center, at the National Museum of Anthropology (MNA), Madrid. 27-01-2024 to 05-05-2024.
2022 – Madrid: Interactive installation and participatory workshop in it WomenWomen II Meeting of the Chinese Diaspora in Spain. Organized by the Liwai collective at Matadero Madrid.
2022 – Barcelona: Participatory workshop at the Espai Avinyó cultural center, promoted by the Barcelona City Council, within the framework of the cycle 15M and Family Books.
2022 – Seville: Exhibition within the framework of the Citizenship organized by the Ministry of Culture and Sport of Spain (Seville).
